Shipping-crate.



S. G. JOHNSON.

SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION man APR. n, 191% Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

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S. G. JOHNSON.

SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION men APR.H.1914.

1 ,1 99,556 1 Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

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SAMUEL G. JOHNSON, OF PRESCOTT, ARIZONA.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1.916.

Application filed April 11, 1914. Serial No. 831,158.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL G. J OHNSON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Prescott, in the county of Yavapai and State of Arizona, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipping-Crates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in shipping crates, and has for its principal object to provide a crate which is adapted for use for all purposes wherein it is desired that shipping crates be used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a practically indestructible shipping crate which is particularly light in structure and which is capable of being returned to the shipper in such a manner as to occupy the least amount of space.

A further object of the invention is to provide a particularly strong and durable shipping crate having braces so arranged that the crates may be piled on top of one another without danger of injury.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a crate having means carried therein to hold a lining of canvas or similar flexible material to render the same practically dust proof.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts which will be fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a detail perspective view of a shipping crate constructed in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a crate constructed in accordance with this invention showing the same with the cover removed, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a crate constructed in accordance with this invention, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view of one of the fastening means for holding the canvas in place.

Referring now to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1 designates as an entirety the bottom frame of the device which is preferably rectangular as clearly shown and is formed of a suitable single piece of angle iron having one of its flanges extending upwardly and the other flange extending inwardly.

Secured to each corner of the frame 1 are provided the corner posts 2 which are formed of angle iron and project upwardly and outwardly from the frame 1 at an angle to the frame 1 as clearly shown.

A suitable upper frame designated generally by the numeral 3 is provided and is secured to the upper terminals of the posts 2 as will be clearly seen upon reference to Figs. 2 and 4:. The upper frame 3 is pref erably formed of angle iron 4- having one of its flanges extending vertically while the opposite flange extends outwardly as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The outwardly extending flange of the angle iron l which is designated by the numeral 5, is preferably bent back upon itself as at 6 to form a guide or trough in which the cover designated by the numeral 7 is adapted to slide. This guide 6 is arranged to extend along the lateral edges of the frame 3 and along one end of said frame in order to hold the top firmly in place while the opposite end of the frame is left smooth and provided with the aperture 8 which is arranged to receive the lock or seal designated generally by the numeral 9.

Secured to the vertically extending portion of the angle iron forming the frame 3, is provided the plate 10 which is centrally located with relation to the lateral extremities and is arranged to hold the handle portion 11 in proper position on the crate. The

lower portion of the plate 10 is provided with a pair of spaced apertures in which the ends of the wires 12 are riveted as at 13. These wires 12 extend downwardly as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and are bent as at 14c and extend longitudinally of the bottom wall of the crate to form skids which are (ifranged to permit the crate to slide easily and forming the frames 1 and 3 and to the an-- gle members forming the posts 2, is provided the screen wire 15 which is preferably galvanized to render the same water-proof and thereby provide a device which is practically indestructible. This wire is preferably of a relatively heavy gage so that it will not be easily torn or bent out of shape. s c ea ly i l strated. t e Wire is s cured. on

the interior of the angle irons to eliminate any rough edges which are apt to become caught and cause injury to the floors and walls of buildings or to itself.

Pivotally secured as at 16 to the horizontal portion of the angle iron l at spaced intervals along the lateral extremities of the frame are provided the braces 17 which are formed of a small piece of angle iron and are arranged to swing on a pivot so that they may be extended transversely across the crate as illustrated in Fig. 3 or folded against the opposite sides of the crate when so desired.

Secured at spaced intervals to the screen wire 15 immediately beneath the lower edge of the angle bar a are provided the buttons designated generally by the numeral 18 which are arranged to extend through apertures in the canvas which is used as a lining, to hold said canvas in place when in use. These buttons preferably comprise the oval body portion 19 having the apertured closure 20 formed at one end. The opposite end of the body portion is pro vided with a plurality of prongs 21 which are arranged to be bent around the wires of the screen as shown in Fig. 5 to firmly hold the body portion in place. Extending through the aperture in the closure 20 of the body portion 19 is provided the rivet 22, the free end of which is arranged to extend through the aperture 23 formed in the rotatable element 24 of the button which is formed in a manner similar to the body portion and contains within itself a suitable friction element 25 which is formed of leather or similar yieldable material.

Formed integral with the cover 7 and projecting longitudinally from one end thereof is provided the tongue 26 having a suitable aperture formed therein which is arranged to register with the aperture 8 formed in the flange of the angle member 4. Thus it will be seen that when the apertures are in registration and the lock or seal 9 placed therein and locked, the cover will be firmly held in place and danger of interference with the contents of the crate will be eliminated. In order to form a handle to withdraw the cover from its position is provided the tongue 27 having formed in its free end the thumb receiving aperture 28 by means of-which the user may easily and quickly withdraw the cover from its position.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that in use the case is packed with the desired material and the braces 17 swung on their pivots 16 so that they assume the position illustrated in Fig. 3. The cover 7 is then put in place beneath the guide formed by the bent back portion 6 and the lock or seal 9 passed through the apertures to firmly hold the cover in place and prevent interference with the contents of the crate. After the crate has reached its destination the contents are removed and the braces 17 swung on their pivots so that they lie in direct alinement and parallel relation with the side walls of the frame 3. In this condition with the cover removed, it will be apparent that a number of crates constructed in accordance with this invention may be nested and in that condition will occupy a minimum amount of space when being returned to the shipper.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that such changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as will fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A shipping crate of the character described comprising a bottom formed of a frame of angle iron and a foraminous material secured thereto, corner posts extending upwardly from opposite corners of said frame, foraminous material secured to the corner posts forming the side and end walls of the crate, angle bars secured by one of their flanges to the opposite upper end of the flanges of the corner posts, the horizontal flanges of the bars being disposed outwardly, the longitudinal edges of the horizontal flanges being bent upwardly and directed inwardly to form grooves to slidably receive a cover therein, brace bars pivoted between the upper and lower flange of the grooves near each end, said brace bars being adapted to lie parallel within the grooves between the flanges when the crate is being filled and to be swung transversely across the crate after the same has been filled, and means for holding the cover against outward sliding movement.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL G. JOHNSON. l/Vitnesses:

E. R. STAUFFER, J. L. JoNEs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

